Getting Started

Every step of the way, a representative of our dedicated Donor Recruitment team will work with you to plan and implement your blood drive—whether you are able to sponsor one or ten throughout the year. Your representative will be available to answer questions throughout the process, provide experienced advice on recruitment, promotion, communication, and more. In addition, you will be provided a comprehensive Blood Drive Coordinator Toolkit that includes the essential marketing and promotion materials (e.g., brochures, posters, flyers, email templates) you need to help ensure the success of your blood drive.

At least 10-12 weeks before you would like to schedule your blood drive, contact us and let us help you right from the start. We can walk you through each step of the process: setting a date, selecting a location, and establishing a blood drive committee that involves others in your organization who can help you with promotion, blood donor recruitment, and other activities associated with the event.

Helpful Tip: Make it an organization-wide effort. The more people involved the better!

At this early stage, your first task will be to survey your organization using the Blood Drive Pledge Form that will assess the level of participation you might expect in your upcoming blood drive. These results will help determine the type of blood drive (e.g., on-site or bloodmobile) that would be most appropriate.

Approximately 8-10 weeks prior to your blood drive, set up your first planning meeting with your Memorial Blood Centers representative. During this initial session, together you will review the results from your Pledge Survey and determine the type of blood drive set up that best fits your needs. You also will discuss blood drive goals, the scheduling donation process, a date for your drive, times and a location that will work best, promotion and advertising opportunities, and the support materials you will need to effectively spread the word about the event.

Helpful Tip: Have a few dates and locations in mind before you meet with your Memorial Blood Centers representative.

Five to eight weeks before the blood drive, your Memorial Blood Centers representative will deliver promotion materials, including posters, flyers, and other marketing items you need to successfully publicize the drive. At this time, you will finalize details regarding the day of the blood drive, including reserved parking, unloading areas, or other equipment needs such as tables and chairs. During this time, we encourage you to stay in touch with your designated representative if you have questions, are looking for advice, or would like to discuss promotional ideas to improve your recruitment efforts.

Four weeks before the drive, put posters and flyers in high-traffic areas: break rooms, lunch rooms, conference rooms, rest rooms, lobbies, elevators and so on. Send employee email blasts with details to help recruit blood donors. Announce the blood drive and invite people to donate in your organization’s newsletter or bulletin, on your company’s intranet, etc. Create a friendly competition among departments of the company to increase awareness of the drive and generate interest and participation.

Helpful Tip: Find a key person within your organization—your executive director, CEO, or other senior-level executive—to support the blood drive with a personal email, staff announcement, or in some other public way encourage everyone who is eligible to donate.

A day or two before the drive, send emails and make reminder announcements or calls to those scheduled to donate. Get “Blood Drive Today” posters from your Memorial Blood Centers representative and post them throughout the organization on the day of the drive.

Helpful Tip: Be sure to thank all donors, coordinators, and volunteers who are helping to make your drive a success!

Your Memorial Blood Centers representative will follow up with you within a week of your blood drive to share results and get your feedback on what went well and how we might create even more success with your next drive. Our goal is to provide the best customer service and donor experience possible, and we value greatly your honest and open feedback.

Helpful Tip: Share the success of your drive with the entire organization: send out an email or memo, place an article in your newsletter or bulletin, host a company-wide event to acknowledge the department or unit that donated the most blood, etc. Acknowledging the volunteers who participated throughout the blood drive process will help generate continued interest in blood donation and will make your next blood drive a success!

Contact your Memorial Blood Centers representative to schedule your next blood drive. Whole blood can be donated every 56 days, and we are happy to plan a series of blood drives with your organization. Consider hosting one per season or one per quarter.